Spring is Bustin' Out All Over!

All those days of waiting and watching and counting the days until Spring seem to be behind us ... as Spring has finally made its presence known here in Vicksburg.  I saw my first butterfly yesterday, and a wriggly worm greeted me when I was digging a hole while planting some flowers. After taking its dear time, Spring seems to have arrived overnight ... slipping up on us, with buds popping out of nowhere, unfolding like flowers in a time-lapse photography scene.  Everywhere I look in our yard, I see new life. In the trees ... And flowers ... Even the honey bees and bumblebees seem excited!  It won't be long before these little Midnight Elephant Ears ...  Will look like this ... And the tiny leaves on this Lantana plant ... Will turn into a profusion of yellow blooms ... In the backyard, I was happy to see two little green Mexican Petunia leaves poking up through the pine straw ... Soon they will look like this ... I also found mint creeping in and amongst the stones on our path leading to the backyard ... I'll have to be sure and keep it under control or it will take over the path! Little green tentacles of my Asparagus Ferns are waking up and reaching for the sun ... And this Umbrella Plant will soon take over its corner of the pond ... I love these little leaf sprouts on our Chaste Plant.                                 It won't be long until they look like this ... The leaves on the Japanese Maple tree in our courtyard are almost ready to transform it into a blaze of color.  Soon ...  And in the meantime, while all of these awesome transformations are happening, our heron, Harry, will be tending this urn of purple Petunias.  I can tell by the look on his face that he, too, is very happy that Spring is finally here.  Here are some close up shots of those petunias that I captured when the late afternoon sun was filtering through the petals. I hope Spring is bustin' out all over where you live, and you can take time to see God's glory up close and treasure each and every "how great Thou art" moment while watching His beautiful world unfold with new life.

How Great Thou Art Moments

Our Chaste Tree is in full bloom now, and has never been prettier!

 

One of my favorite landscaping trees, the Chaste Tree, has gorgeous blue spiky blooms during late spring and summer.  The flowers grow in 6"-12" spikes, and our tree blooms two or three times during the summer months.

Some of you may know the Chaste Tree as Texas Lilac, or Lilac Chaste Tree, because its blossoms are reminiscent of the common lilac.

It's a sprawling plant that can grow to be 10-20 feet tall and about as wide.

Butterflies, hummingbirds, and bumblebees love the bright blue blossoms ... and I was delighted to see this little guy happily flitting from blossom to blossom, practically ignoring me and my camera.

Although he was keeping an eye on me, he didn't seem to mind having his picture taken.

He couldn't get enough of the nectar ... and I was delighted to have the opportunity to capture him as he darted from blossom to blossom.

He was a happy, happy, happy little hummer!

The next picture is my favorite. His delicate, gossamer wings are truly awe-inspiring.

I like this picture, too ... I don't see hummers with their beaks open very often.

Bumblebees love Chaste trees, too ... and will even spend the night on the flowers. However, when I took these pictures, they were too busy gathering pollen to bother me.

As I snapped pictures of the bees, I noticed that this little fellow had "globs" (for lack of a better word) of what appeared to be pollen attached to his back legs.

I was curious about how a little bumblebee could carry that much pollen around on his legs and still be able to fly, so I turned to a blogger's best friend, Google, and discovered an amazing thing:

A bumblebee's legs are covered with sticky hairs that help it collect pollen.  Hollow holders on the outside of each back leg, called pollen baskets, are yellow to red when full of pollen, as shown by this sketch by Sheri Amsel ( Bumblebee: Exploring Nature ).

I think this little guy's pollen baskets were about to "runneth over!"

As I captured these pictures ... of the chaste tree, and the hummingbird, and the bumblebee ... I couldn't help but experience several "How Great Thou Art" moments.

Who ... but God ... could have created such an awesome tree -- its glory and beauty brightening the hot summer months, and its glorious blossoms a nourishing source of nectar and pollen for the smallest of His creatures.

O, Lord, my God,

When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all Thy hands have made ...  

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,

How great Thou art,

How great Thou art!

I wish you a week filled with God's Grace and countless "How Great Thou Art" moments.  They are everywhere, if we just take the time to "see" and appreciate them.